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Today's Opinions

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported (Page B1 of the Apr. 6 edition) that Toyota faces a $16.4 million fine in the United States. According to this news article, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is seeking the fine, accusing Toyota of knowingly hiding a problem with sticky gas pedals from U. S. regulators. This is the maximum fine allowed under U. S. law and vastly exceeds the previous record of $1 million.

Bedford County escaped the worst of budget cuts for the school system when the General Assembly restored millions of dollars that were proposed to be eliminated from the state funding for the 2010-2011 school year.

That meant fewer jobs had to be eliminated and no schools had to be closed. That certainly helped ease the pain that could have been felt next year. Instead of losing 124 jobs, the school system will only eliminate half of those. Most of those spots will be handled through attrition and through a retirement incentive, but not all of them.

Though he has received significant bad press locally, notably in letters to the editor by ultra-conservatives, Representative Tom Perriello accurately reflects the sum and substance of voters of the 5th District who put him in office. Two issues stand out as targets for criticism: energy and health care.

One of my greatest privileges in Congress is serving on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and its Health Subcommittee, where I am committed to ensuring quality health coverage for those who have served our country. With rumors and misunderstandings continuing to spread about health insurance reform, I want to clear up any confusion regarding how health reform will affect veterans and military personnel.

Political fallout from the health care battle is still being recorded, even as many Americans are beginning to realize the justice and the decency of universal health care.

I hope everyone saw the picture on the front page of the March 27 Roanoke Times. Hundreds of people were lined up to take advantage of an annual dental care clinic that’s offered free. There they were, the uninsured in full view, getting up early, probably before dawn, to stand in line for the care that they can’t afford.